Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper tapped the director of human resources at Kaiser Permanente as director of the Department of Personnel and Administration.

Kathy Nesbitt is an attorney who has more than 14 years of Human Resources and leadership experience.

“Kathy is a true human resources professional whose experience includes negotiating, labor relations and workers compensation,” Hickenlooper said, in a news release. “She shares our commitment to providing outstanding customer service and we are pleased to have her as part of our team.”

Nesbitt earlier worked as a staff attorney for Mountain States Employers Counsel and an employment attorney at Qwest Communications. She also worked as a staff attorney at Kaiser before returning later as a human resources leader and counsel.

Hickenlooper has two major appointments left to announce: director of revenue and economic development.

Lynn Bartels thinks politics is like sports but without the big salaries and protective cups. The Washington Post's "The Fix" blog has named her one of Colorado's best political reporters and tweeters.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.